Toscana, Italy

"I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free"

Michelangelo

"

The Creator made Italy from designs by Michelangelo"

Mark Twain

Tuscany, Italy

Tuscany is known for its colorful picturesque landscapes, history, finest cuisine traditions and the greatest artistic legacy. Tuscany is the birthplace of the Italian Renaissance and has been home to many figures influential in the history of art and science, such as Petrarch, Dante, Boccaccio, Botticelli, Michelangelo, Niccolò Macchiavelli, Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo Galilei, Amerigo Vespucci, Luca Pacioli, Amedeo Modigliani and Giacomo Puccini.

The Province of Massa and Carrara (in Italian: Provincia di Massa e Carrara) is a province in the Tuscany region. It is named after the two main towns in its territory - Carrara and Massa. Massa is the capital of the province.

The province has incredibly fascinating geographical area, its nature has a unique combination of beauty - the landscape includes the background of the Apuan Alps and the sky-blue waters of the Mediterranean Sea.It looks as though the mountains are covered with snow, but in reality, the white that you see is the most pristine and whitestmarble in the world. These mountains gave birth to the finest masterpieces of marble the world has ever seen.

The province is famous for the production of the white Carrara marble which has been used since the time of Ancient Rome and is exported all around the world. The marble of Carrara has originated from the calcareous mud from the bottom of the Tethys sea, from the Jurassic period, and is about 200 million years old. The Pantheon and Trajan's Column in Rome and many sculptures of the Renaissance, such as Michelangelo's David, were constructed of the white Carrara marble. For Michelangelo, Carrara marble was valued above all other stone.

In addition to the marble quarries, the province has academies of sculpture and fine arts and a museum of statuaries and antiquities, marble fairs and exhibitions.

From Pisa Airport participants can take the train to Massa ("Massa Centro" station). The train to Massa can be taken either directly from the airport train station ("Pisa Fermata Aeroporto") or from Pisa station "Pisa Centrale" (there is a convenient bus from the airport to "Pisa Centrale" station). The train trip to Massa will take about 60min.

From Florence Airport: first you can take the bus to Rifredi Station ("Firenze Rifredi" - nearest railway station to the airport) and from "Firenze Rifredi" station you can take the train to "Massa Centro". The train trip to Massa will take about 1h 40min.

If you are travelling from Florence city, you can take the train from Santa Maria Novella Station ("Firenze S. M. Novella"). This is the main railway station in Florence located in Piazza della Stazione in the city center. The trip to "Massa Centro" by train will take about 1h 40min.

Where to buy bus and train tickets?

Usually tickets for the bus can be purchased from the bus driver or be bought at the automated ticket machines in the terminal building at the airports and at a variety of city centre locations including the railway stations. Train tickets can be purchased at the train station or online via TrenItalia web site.

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